Willem Stark
Willem Stark (son of Eddard) Willem Stark '''is the second son of '''Lord Eddard '''and '''Lady Catelyn Stark. He was born in 283 AC '''at '''Winterfell '''and was raised alongside his older brother '''Robb '''and his younger siblings '''Sansa, Arya, Bran '''and '''Rickon. He was also raised alongside his older half-brother Jon Snow '''(actually his first-cousin by his aunt '''Lyanna Stark '''and '''Prince Rhaegar Targaryen) and his fathers ward Theon Greyjoy, '''son of '''Lord Balon Greyjoy '''of the '''Iron Islands '''who was bought to Winterfell after his father rebelled against '''King Robert Baratheon '''in '''The Greyjoy Rebellion. '''He was trained to fight by Winterfell's master-at-arms '''Ser Rodrik Cassel '''and was a great fighter although he was not as proficient as his brothers Robb, Jon or his good friend Theon. '''Season 1 Willem is first seen alongside Theon and Rodrik when telling Lord Eddard that a Night's Watch 'deserter has been captured and he must peform the execution. On the way back to WInterfell, Willem is the first person to find the dead deer and shouts out for the others to stop and come have a look. After finding the dead body of the '''Direwolf '''he excitedly looks at Theon and his brothers and agrees with Bran when he says that they should keep '''the pups. '''After adopting one of the pups he names it '''Frostbite. ' After the death of '''Lord Jon Arryn '''he welcomes King Robert Baratheon and his court to Winterfell and smirks when he sees his sister Sansa smiling at '''Prince Joffery Baratheon. '''At the feast to honor the king's visit he sits with the southern knights and lords and gets drunk with them. He even manages to strike up a friendship with '''Tyrion Lannister, brother to Queen Cersei Lannister '''and '''Ser Jaime Lannister '''of the '''Kingsguard, '''who gets him so drunk he passes out on the table before he can get up to go to bed. He sleeps all through the next day and is woken up when he hears shouting as his brother Bran has just been found, legs shattered and unconscious, beneath the '''broken tower. Because he knows that his brother Robb, as the heir to Winterfell, will most likely have to marry the daughter of a Northern lord he decides that if he marries he will find a beautiful daughter of a powerful southern lord. So at his mothers request he leaves with his father and the southern court but then breaks off with about 2 dozen companions and crosses The Green Fork '''river at '''The Twins '''to go to '''Riverrun '''to meet his uncle '''Edmure Tully '''and his grandfather '''Lord Hoster Tully. '''He stays in the '''Riverlands for months while he travels around meeting several River-lords, befriending their sons and getting to know their daughters. He especially likes his visit to Raventree Hall, 'the seat of '''House Blackwood, '''and has became good friends with '''Lord Tytos Blackwoods '''son '''Lucas '''who just like Willem is a second-born son. The next time Willem is seen he is practice fighting out in Riverruns yard with his uncle Edmure when a messenger arrives to tell them that his mother, Lady Catelyn Stark has taken Tyrion Lannister captive and Jaime Lannister responded to this news by attacking Willem's father Eddard in the streets of '''King's Landing '''and riding off to join his father '''Lord Tywin Lannister, '''who is gathering an army in the '''Westerlands. '''Edmure tells Willem to find the '''Maester '''and call the River-lords to Riverrun, Willem then smiles and says: "we're going to war". Willem and Edmure gather an and march to the '''Golden Tooth '''which guards the border between the Riverlands and the Westerlands. He participates in '''The battle of the Golden Tooth '''where the Riverlands army is defeated by a Westerlands army led by Ser Jaime Lannister. Edmure and Willem fall back to Riverrun with the remainder of their army and Jaime Lannister at their heels. Jaime surrounds the castle and starts '''The first siege of Riverrun. ' When Robb Stark marches down from '''The North '''he, like Willem, crosses at the Twins except this time he must agree to marry one of '''Lord Walder Frey's '''daughters or he won't cross. Robb agrees to the terms and splits his army, sending 2000 men to stall Lord Tywin's army while taking the rest of his army plus the soldiers of '''House Frey '''across the Twins to Riverrun. After Robb suprise attacks and captures Jaime in '''The battle in the Whispering Wood '''Willem is freed from the Riverrun siege and reunites with his brother and mother, who tell him that King Robert has died and that his father Lord Eddard has been accused of being a traitor and thrown in a dungeon by the new king, Joffery. Soon after they get word of the execution of the Lord of Winterfell and all the Starks and their bannermen are devastated. Willem deals with his fathers death by sitting in the courtyard of Riverrun, not eating, drinking or sleeping, just sharpening his sword. About a week later all the lords of the North and the Riverlands are debating which king to join as, since the death of King Robert, 3 new kings have declared themselves: '''Joffery '''who is (supposedly) Roberts son and heir as well as '''Stannis '''and '''Renly '''Roberts younger brothers. As everyone starts to argue '''Lord Greatjon Umber '''stands up and spits at the idea of swearing fealty to a southern king and instead declares Robb as the first '''King in the North '''in 300 years, everyone, including Willem, stands up and shouts "King in the North!" as they raise their swords to the sky. '''Season 2 Willem, now going by Prince Willem, continues to support Robb in his campaign against the Lannisters. He fights alongside Robb and Theon in many battles and proves himself to be a great soldier. He is captain of the escort of is mother, Lady Catelyn, and travels with her to treat with the newly proclaimed King Renly Baratheon '''who has mustered a force of 100,000 men and plans to use this massive army to defeat his 'nephew' Joffery and his brother '''King Stannis Baratheon '''who just sent letters to every lord in '''Westeros '''stating that the children of King Robert and Queen Cersei are actually bastards born of incest between the queen and her brother Ser Jaime Lannister, a captive a Robb. The maesters are now calling the new conflict '''The war of the 5 kings '''due the crowning of kings Joffery, Stannis and Renly of all Westeros and the crownings of Robb and Balon Greyjoy as separate kings of the North and Iron Islands respectively. Willem and Catelyn arrive at King Renlys camp just in time to see '''Brienne of Tarth '''defeat '''The Knight of Flowers Ser Loras Tyrell '''in single combat. At the camp he meets King Renly, his Queen: Margaery Tyrell, Ser Loras and many more of the southern knights and lords. He accompanies King Renly to the parley with his brother King Stannis and angrily says that Robb is King in the North by rights, after Stannis says that Robb stole half of his kingdom. He is drinking with some of the other Northerners when Catelyn runs into the tent with Brienne of Tarth and tells them that they must leave. Willem looks confused but starts getting ready when he hears the shouting and horn blowing from outside. He is present when Brienne swears her sword to his mother. He reunites with his brother King Robb in the Westerlands and looks amused when he sees Robb talking with '''Talisa Maegyr. '''He is extremely angry when he learns of Theon Greyjoy's betrayal and capture of Winterfell and tells Robb that it should be him to go and reclaim the '''seat '''of '''their family, '''but Robb instead sends '''Lord Roose Bolton's '''bastard son '''Ramsey Snow. '''He participates in the '''Battle of the Yellow Fork '''and slays many enemies. He is put in charge of Robb's camp when he goes to negotiate '''the surrender of the Crag '''and together with '''Lord Rickard Karstark '''recaptures Jaime Lannister after he killed his cousin '''Ser Alton Lannister '''and Lord Rickard's son '''Torrhen '''and tried to flee from the camp. After his mother, Lady Catelyn, releases Jaime in an effort to exchange him for her daughters, Arya and Sansa, he ignores her and only looks at her in a cold manner. He is devastated upon learning that Theon supposedly killed his brothers, Bran and Rickon and deals with it in the same way he dealt with his fathers death, fighting whoever he can. He is happy for Robb when his brother marries Talisa Maegyr but is worried what House Frey will do in retaliation. '''Season 3 Willem has become Robb's most trusted adviser after both Catelyn and Theon have betrayed him. He marches with Robb to Harrenhal expecting to have a fight with The Mountain '''but finds that Ser Gregor just killed all the captives and left. He is with Robb when Roose Bolton tells him that his grandfather Lord Hoster Tully has died and that Theon Greyjoy has killed his brothers, Bran and Rickon. He is devastated upon learning this and deals with it in the same way he dealt with his fathers death, fighting whoever he can. After Hoster Tully's funeral Willem gets drunk and starts boasting that he defeated Ser Jaime Lannister three times in single combat: once at Winterfell, once at the whispering wood and once when he escaped from the camp after killing Torrhen Karstark. He tells Robb to keep fighting even after the Lannisters won the Battle on the Blackwater and now have the '''House Tyrell '''on their side. He is disgusted by murder of '''Martyn '''and '''WIllem Lannister '''by Rickard Karstark and agrees when Robb when he says he will execute Lord Rickard. He is present at the execution. This leads to '''House Karstark withdrawing their support from Robb's campaign and Robb losing half of his forces stationed at Riverrun. He and Robb decide that the best course of action is attempting an attack on Casterly Rock '''to add momentum back to the Northern Army. Robb realizes that without the Karstark men they need the soldiers of House Frey to fulfill their plan. Robb negotiates with Lord Walders sons, Lothar Frey and Black Walder Rivers, who tell him that Lord Frey wants Harrenhal and all its lands and incomes, a formal apology from Robb and for Willem and Edmure to take Frey Brides in '''Donna '''and '''Roslin Frey, '''who are twins. Willem accepts that he must wed but Edmure is reluctant to marry a woman he has never met, but eventually agrees. Robb's army arrives at the Twins for the double wedding and once there, gives Lord Walder the apology he wanted. Willem and Edmure are both introduced to their brides at the same time and to their relief, both girls and surprisingly beautiful, which is rare since the people of House Frey usually have a weaselly appearance. The wedding and feast afterwards are very lively and WIllem and Edmure bond and seem very happy with their new wives. As the feast reaches its peak Lord Walder calls for the '''Bedding ceremony '''which sees the two couples carried off to consummate their marriages. While Willem and Edmure are with their brides Lord Walder betrays King Robb in what comes to be known as the '''Red Wedding, '''killing Robb, Catelyn, Willem's friend Lucas Blackwood and the entire Northern army with help from Lord Roose Bolton. After the bedding, the now Donna Stark falls asleep while Willem gets a cup of wine. As he is in a stone tower high up in the Twins he doesn't realize what is happening until 4 Frey soldiers, including '''Ser Hosteen Frey who killed Lucas Blackwood, burst in. Willem manages to somehow fight them off killing Ser Hosteen and exacting revenge for his friend. Although he managed to kill the four Frey's he took bad wounds in the process, but even so he bids his wife goodbye and goes to find his brother and mother. What he finds instead is the massacre of the Red Wedding and sees all the people he marched with during the war being brutally murdered. He is seen by his sister Arya who is about to run to him but can't when more Frey soldiers attack him, injuring him even more before his almost lifeless body tumbles into the Green Fork River. Willem is believed to be dead during the aftermath of the Red Wedding. He is mentioned by Joffrey and Sansa when discussing the Red Wedding. Joffery calls Willem a cunt, while Sansa says he was always the loud, proud one of the Stark children who always wanted to become a hero worthy of songs and stories. Season 4 Sansa is crushed by the news of the death of her family and refuses to eat. She tells her husband Tyrion Lannister about the things the Freys did to them like how they sewed the head of Robb's Direwolf Grey Wind '''onto his body, or how they stripped her mother naked and threw her into the River, or how they "cut up Willem's body and fed it to the pigs" which is what Lord Walder Frey claimed what happened. Jon Snow also reminisces about Willem, saying that while WIllem wasn't as good a fighter as him or Robb, he was the one always committed to getting better. '''Olenna Tyrell '''consoles Sansa about the Red Wedding saying that it is disgusting what happened to her family, especially at a wedding. '''Season 5 Stannis Baratheon tells Jon Snow that he will legitimize him and make him Lord of WInterfell giving him the chance to kill Roose Bolton and avenge his brothers but Jon declines. After Jon is made the new Lord Commander of the Night's Watch '''he doesn't want to send a letter of help to Roose Bolton because he helped murder Robb and Willem but '''Samwell Tarly '''convinces him that he must. '''Season 6 In the episode 7, The Broken Man, both Willem is revealed to still be alive as a bearded fisherman in the town of Saltpans. '''He goes through his day, saying hello to the townspeople before hoping on his boat and fishing for the rest of the day, before getting back in late and giving the fish he caught to the woman he shares a house with, '''Darla. '''As he is getting ready for bed Darla comes in and reminds him of how she had to sew up ever wound on his body, which was hard because he had been in the River for days so his skin was soft and kept breaking. She then tells him that a Northern trader told her that Roose Bolton is dead. Willem rushes to her and grabs her by the shoulders asking if she is telling the truth, she nods so he yells in a burst of happiness before collapsing on the ground in a coughing fit. Darla rushes to him and lifts him into bed before going and making him a hot cup of ale to numb the pain. She talks of how she found him, he was just a cold, lifeless body that she thought was dead. She was ready to push him back into the water until he shivered and then starting shakily breathing when she touched him. Over the next few months she slowly nursed him back to health, through fever and madness and wounds that wouldn't heal, he was bed ridden for over a year before he finally mustered enough strength to walk and another few weeks before he could start helping around the house, and even then he was still weak. One day he was cleaning up the house when he heard shouting from outside, when he looked outside he saw a '''man wearing a hound's head helm with two dozen companions at his back. He thinks this is the Hound, Sandor Clegane, who he saw at Winterfell and is about to go outside and see what is going on until 'the Hound' kills the man he is talking to and him and his men start the Raid on Saltpans. '''Darla then runs inside the house through the back door and hurriedly tells Willem that they have to leave. Willem grabs a knife, they rush out the back door and make a run for the dingy that is still out in the harbor but, because of his back health, Willem collapses before reaching the it. An ugly smiling man looms over him with a sword and would have killed him if not for Darla hurling a stone at him, he then goes for her but Willem gets up, grabs his knife and kills the man. He takes his sword, and with his newfound strength, rows them out to sea. After the savage raid, Willem and Darla help bury the bodies and rebuild the town along with the other survivors. Over a year has now passed since the raid and the town is still reeling from the loss of so much friends and family. As Willem lies in bed he thinks about all he has lost: his brothers Robb, Bran and Rickon, his sisters Sansa and Arya, his parents Eddard and Catelyn, his friend Lucas. He thinks about his great-uncle '''Brynden Tully, who took back Riverrun after surviving the Red Wedding, his uncle Edmure who was captured at the Red Wedding and remains a prisoner of House Frey and his wife Donna, who gave birth to his daughter, a girl she named Catelyn. After getting no sleep during the night he decides that what he must do is clear: he must go destroy his enemies and rebuild his House. He then bids goodbye to Darla, thanks her for saving his life and caring for him, and sets out for the Twins. Season 7 He is next seen in the episode Spoils of War '''where he is riding up the Twins on a horse. He finds the castle unguarded and empty as most of the remaining Frey's took everything they could carry and left after '''the massacre of the Frey men '''committed by Arya Stark, though no-one knows it was her. As the walks through the castle he keeps having flashbacks to the night of the Red Wedding which has haunted him for years. As he stands in the same spot his brother Robb stood in when he was killed his long lost wife Donna Stark with her sister Roslin Tully come down the stairs to see what is going on and his wife becomes speechless after she finds out that he has been alive all these years. He meets his daughter Catelyn Stark who his wife named after his mother, as well as his uncle Edmure's son who the less rebellious Roslin named Walder after her father Lord Walder Frey who threatened to kill the babe if she named it Hoster, Robb or Edmure. He goes upstairs with the two woman and finds his uncle Edmure who had been kept as a prisoner for years but was set free by his wife after the other Frey's left. Willem states that once Edmure is fit to travel they will head North since '''fat baker boy '''he met at an in talked about how Jon Snow took back Winterfell with an army of '''Wildlings led by a Giant. In one of the closing scenes of season 7 the group of Red Wedding survivors head out from the Twins with Willem telling Donna that they will return and claim the castle as Lord and Lady of the Crossing.